I beat the skeleton lord but I didn't find the other boss. I'll have to look for it on the next beta test

I'm pretty confused about the time for the next beta test though. I'm in EDT and the test that just happened, test 2 I swear it used to say PDT but it looks like they changed it to UTC without changing the numbers so that doesn't even make sense. Assuming the test 3 numbers are right I'm guessing its gonna be at 4am EDT if I'm reading it right...

This might sound strange but I found Dark Souls pretty easy. Despite how much hate it gets, Blighttown is rather short and linear. It looks like you can get lost there but its sense of size is an illusion. Then you just have to learn that the spider shield blocks poison attacks (as per item description) and get the Rusty Iron ring and your set for an easy conquest. Of course, playing sorcerers = easy mode. All it takes is slowly inching your way through every area so you can notice any traps in time. Despite claims of being cheap, Dark Souls telegraphs nearly all its traps and pitfalls.

I found the game didn't even get hard till Anor Lando (the boss fight is still a pain for me). After that, the games not much of a challenge except for the DLC bosses. That said, I do prefer to play this game off-line because I hate being interrupted by invaders. Its an annoyance I can do without.

So my point is that I am excited to hear they are making the game harder. More aggressive enemies and larger adds in boss fights sounds great. Sorcerers seem to be gaining a lot more flexibility in their spell casting/types of spells which sounds exciting. While healing seems to be in abundance with the minor healing items, it seems more difficult to heal in combat which is when you most want to heal. An interesting design choice but its too soon to know what effect this will have on the games difficulty. After all, if your constantly going to be out numbered or facing enemies that can 2 shot you then easy healing out side of combat is not going to make the game any easier for you. It could just mean you spend less time having to run back to a bonfire to replenish your flasks.

I took a break from my Dark Soul game when I hit Anor Lando.The difficulty sure spiked there.

Playing an agi + katana character doesn't do much against the stone giants either =/Feels like I'm pricking them with a needle while (if they hit me) I get crushed in 3 hits.

I feel cheap for using magic against the stone giants. Their Shield blocks 100% magic so you have to time your magic attacks during their own attacks. Still, its easier and a lot safer to use magic to kill them then melee. If you try to go through the game as pure melee, your going to have the hardest time possible. This is why Pyromancy requires not stat investment, anyone can use it effective. Magic makes a significant difference. Doing a pure Melee run of Dark Souls as akin to a challenge mode to enhance the difficulty of the game.

Unfortunately the Sentinel Giants in Anor Lando are only weak to Occult weapons. That said, they are very slow so equip light armor so you can have a fast roll speed. That said most of the Sentinel Giants in Anor Lando will not agro you as long as your not close so you can just run past them. Only the ones in front of the main gate and the Royal Sentinels in front of the boss room will actively attack you. They are slow enough to run past though.

If you have to fight them then 2h your weapon (since blocking is mostly useless vs them) and use a weapon that can bleed. A katana might not do much damage to them but the bleed effect will still be very effective. Make sure to try to get in 3 rapid hits in at once - when you see a splash of blood come off the enemy then you know the bleed effect was activated.

True is, Elemental weapons are superior to stat scaling weapons unless you have at least 40 in an A or S scaling weapon and a magic buff on your weapon.

Note: the stone giants in the Darkroot Garden are different, they are weak to Fire and Strike weapons. As you might expect, a Katana (which does slashing damage) does little damage while a strike weapon (like a Mace or Hammer) is a lot better at smashing stone apart.

True but I use a high bleed katana... and somehow it still works (yes, bleeding stone statues to death)

Well, I wrote the bleed effect still works. Also, the Sentinel are not actually stone statues. Their armor is just made out of stone. The reason occult weapons work against them is because they are actually alive. In other words, there is a giant demi god human in that stone armor who you are killing each time you beat an Anor Lando Sentinel. Its the same with the Silver Knights who are also weak to Occult weapons for the same reason. Occult weapons are for slaying the living, primarily the gods. Its also why the Sentinels can cast miracles, they are the divine bodyguards of the gods.

Just extra fluff you can piece together from reading weapon and armor set item descriptions. ;)

True but I use a high bleed katana... and somehow it still works (yes, bleeding stone statues to death)

Well, I wrote the bleed effect still works. Also, the Sentinel are not actually stone statues. Their armor is just made out of stone. The reason occult weapons work against them is because they are actually alive. In other words, there is a giant demi god human in that stone armor who you are killing each time you beat an Anor Lando Sentinel. Its the same with the Silver Knights who are also weak to Occult weapons for the same reason. Occult weapons are for slaying the living, primarily the gods. Its also why the Sentinels can cast miracles, they are the divine bodyguards of the gods.

Just extra fluff you can piece together from reading weapon and armor set item descriptions. ;)

I love you for posting this. One of my favorite parts of Dark Souls.

Logged

"IT IS SUBTRACTION. I WILL COME TO YOUR SCHOOL AND BEAT YOUR STUDENTS." - John

The idea is to get 45 dex asap in order to max out my casting speed of fireballs (since they are slow as molasses to cast). Get Crown of Dusk and Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring and your spells will obliterate bosses. My weapon will be a Chaos Great Scythe +5, Ricard's Rapier+15, Lighting Uchigatana +5 and a Composite bow +15. Note: I may not bother Ascending my pyro glove until new game + just to save souls to level up. I'll see how it goes.

The general idea of this build is to be a classic Dex build with access to Pyro Spells (magic is too powerful to pass up in the soul games) and still have access to the wonderful utility spells of Sorcery such as Hidden Body, Aural Decoy, and fall control. Great Magic weapon with oolacile ivory catalyst actually adds 198 damage. Thats a lot for such a small investment in INT.

At the start of the game I like to use the Master key to run through the starting areas to grab all the items you can right at the start of the game. It takes about 30 mins and starting the game with Estus flasks +2 is really sweet. The best part is that I got all but one item in the top area of New Londo without dieing once. The item left is a soul item within the big ghost house so its easy to get when I come back here latter in the game. Just, I even got the Ring of Sacrifice on the roof, the Firekeeper soul, and most importantly the cursebite ring. I'll never fear being cursed now. I'd like to say I feel pro for being able to do this but this is a ridiculously minor feat compared to the crazy speed runs people are still doing. I'd suggest leaving the Ring of Sacrifice on the roof for latter in the game when you can clear out all the ghost. I was just feeling cocky and was very lucky. lol

Really, the key to getting items in New Londo early without dieing is abusing F4 to reset enemies. Its a super cheap tactic but hey, the AI in this game is cheap as well, such as being able to clip through walls when you can't so I say its all fair in Dark Souls.

Below is a screenshot of my little goddess of fire. I just got the Great Scythe and ascended it to fire +1 which makes the undead burg a cake walk and will help a lot vs the Gargoyles. Best of all I again managed not to die in the catacombs. HUZZAH!.

Just for fun, I'll try to tell you guys how many times I die. lol I don't expect it to be too high since I know where everything is in this game. I'm thinking I'm not going to bother getting every item in the game since thats both a waste of time and really suicidal. lol

Wow, I manage to kill the Carpa Demon on my first try. I've never done that before. O.o. A fire +1 Great Scythe is the perfect weapon against it, very long reach with damage. Also, I tried using an Alluring Skull to distract the boss and its dogs and it works perfect. Just had to block their initial attack and then I was left alone. I got the idea from youtube and I was VERY surprised by its effectiveness. Aura Decoy also works the same way.

I've died 3 times but not to bosses, by being too reckless with my attacks and not simply playing it safe and blocking first before attacking so my own fault.